Newark to San Francisco (EWR–SFO): distance and flight time

Flight time each way

EWR → SFO

6 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 281° (WNW).

Leave Newark Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive San Francisco Sat 7 Nov, 13:15 local.

SFO → EWR

5 h 15 min

Estimated gate-to-gate scheduled time. Initial heading 70° (ENE).

Leave San Francisco Sat 7 Nov, 10:00 local → arrive Newark Sat 7 Nov, 18:15 local.

SFO-bound flights are the slower direction by about 60 minutes in our estimate: the route runs mostly east–west through latitudes where the prevailing westerly winds at cruise height are strong, so heading east rides a tailwind and heading west fights a headwind. How we estimate it.

Distance

Great-circle distance	4,118 km · 2,559 mi · 2,224 nmi
Initial heading	281° (WNW) from EWR; 70° (ENE) from SFO
Farthest from the equator	42.0°N
Crosses	neither the equator nor the 180th meridian
Share of the longest possible trip	21% of the 20,015 km to the far side of the Earth

Time zones and jet lag

EWR	America/New_York — UTC−4 now; UTC−5 standard time, UTC−4 during daylight saving time
SFO	America/Los_Angeles — UTC−7 now; UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 during daylight saving time
Difference	San Francisco is 3 hours behind Newark today.

Jet lag, flying EWR → SFO. Your body clock has to move 3 hours later, like a westward trip. A common rule of thumb is that the body clock adjusts by roughly one time zone a day, so expect up to about 3 days to fully adjust. Shifting later (as here) is usually the easier direction; evening daylight at the destination helps. Flying the other way, the shift is reversed.

General information, not medical advice.

The two airports

EWR Newark Liberty International AirportNewark, United States · longest runway 11,000 ft3,353 m

SFO San Francisco International AirportSan Francisco, United States · longest runway 11,870 ft3,618 m

Same cities, other airports

JFKSFO New York – San Francisco 4,152 km2,580 mi · 6 h 20 min

More routes from EWR and SFO

EWRORD Newark – Chicago 1,154 km717 mi · 2 h 30 min EWRDEN Newark – Denver 2,576 km1,601 mi · 4 h 20 min EWRDUB Newark – Dublin 5,125 km3,185 mi · 6 h 25 min EWRLHR Newark – London 5,562 km3,456 mi · 6 h 55 min EWRFRA Newark – Frankfurt 6,211 km3,859 mi · 7 h 35 min SINEWR Singapore – Newark 15,337 km9,530 mi · 18 h 30 min LAXSFO Los Angeles – San Francisco 543 km338 mi · 1 h 45 min SFOORD San Francisco – Chicago 2,964 km1,842 mi · 4 h 05 min SFOBOS San Francisco – Boston 4,341 km2,697 mi · 5 h 30 min SFOAMS San Francisco – Amsterdam 8,785 km5,459 mi · 10 h 35 min SFOPVG San Francisco – Shanghai 9,877 km6,138 mi · 13 h 20 min SFOSIN San Francisco – Singapore 13,582 km8,439 mi · 17 h 45 min

Routes of a similar length

LAXHNL Los Angeles – Honolulu 4,108 km2,553 mi · 6 h 05 min AKLPPT Auckland – Papeete (Tahiti) 4,094 km2,544 mi · 5 h 25 min SINDEL Singapore – Delhi 4,159 km2,584 mi · 5 h 55 min JFKKEF New York – Reykjavík 4,163 km2,587 mi · 5 h 30 min

Need a different pair? The flight-time calculator works for any two of 3,245 airports. Not covered: which airlines fly this route, schedules, fares and live status — that data is proprietary and we don’t guess it.

Photos on airport pages are credited there. Estimates are rounded to 5 minutes; typical error about 13 minutes (validation).

EWR Newark ⇄ SFO San Francisco